Book: Time for the U.S. to get out of Afghanistan

SANDUSKY — The U.S. war in Afghanistan began in 2001, shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attack.That was 16 years ago, and our war there threatens to drag on for many more years.The endless war is a pointless exercise in death and destruction, yet there is little public discussion about it. Neither Democrats nor Republicans seem particularly interested in talking about whether we ought to stay there forever. Our current political arguments over "culture war" flashpoints seem to interest partisans more than the basic question of whether America should be endlessly at war.If you are at least willing to listen to the idea that the U.S. should not fight endless Asian land wars, you need to read Scott Horton's new book, "Fool's Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan." It's also a well-researched, interesting book, a lively and interesting read.Here are some of the things you'll learn if you read Horton's book:• There is nothing particularly Islamic about suicide bombers. Suicide attacks are a tactic used by combatants who have no other means to inflict serious casualties. (The history of World War II in the Pacific illustrates the point. The Japanese resorted to kamikaze attacks after the Japanese navy was at the bottom of the ocean and there were few other options to slow the U.S. advance.)• The U.S. is no closer to defeating the Taliban now than it ever was.• The war in Afghanistan is now the longest war the U.S. has fought.• The U.S. could have fought a limited war to get rid of Osama bin Laden and his allies, getting out of Afghanistan within a few months.• If you serve in the U.S. armed forces, you will not always be "fighting for freedom." You may possibly be fighting to take away someone else's freedom from foreign interference.• Many U.S. allies in Afghanistan sided with the Russians during the Soviet Union's invasion. In other words, many of the natives who sided with the Communist invaders now side with us. The folks in Afghanistan who oppose foreign intervention are the "bad guys" in our eyes, just as they were the baddies as far as the Russians were concerned.• Many of the people we are killing over there are not terrorists or enemy combatants. Horton describes numerous incidents of civilians being killed, including the infamous 2015 U.S. attack on a hospital that killed more than 40 people.• As badly as the Taliban treat women, they are arguably better than many of the folks we support. The Taliban at least are less tolerant of rape than many of our allies. Afghanistan has a real "rape culture," and we're not doing much about it.• Donald Trump ran for president opposing pointless foreign wars but caved in to the Pentagon establishment and ramped up the war after taking office.Horton uncovers endless outrages. I could cite numerous passages in the book; here is one. After describing how the Obama administration in 2016 sought to bolster the Afghan government by purchasing Russian MI-25 attack helicopters from India (to get around U.S. sanctions against Russia), Horton writes,"India's continued willingness to train and equip Afghan National Army forces in their fight against the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network amounted to nothing less than a 'proxy war' between India and Pakistan in Afghanistan, in the words of reporter Charles Tiefer, a proxy war in which the U.S. remains on both sides. All this virtually guarantees the Pakistani state will increase aid to their favored insurgent forces in response. The Americans could not be employing a more self-defeating strategy if sabotage was their actual goal."Your tax dollars at work! Did you know that India was intervening in Afghanistan, with American encouragement? The book is full of such surprises.The book is available in all formats. I bought mine as an ebook for $10 — a fair price for a new book.The book's author, Horton, does a podcast on foreign policy issues that you can find on the Internet and your favorite podcasting app on your smartphone.*Tom Jackson is a Register reporter covering government and politics. He also is author of Jackson Street Book Club, a book blog at sanduskyregister.com Register photo/JASON WERLING 2010